It's been a over a month since my last update on the Grand Bois Cerf "Blues" (26mm), so here's the latest.
Passed 1000 miles yesterday, all on a 1984 Assenmacher touring bike. At 500 miles I traded front with rear. Each tire now has an even wear band about 1/2" wide, and each has three glass cuts of 1/16" long. Wear is not excessive on either tire. I've had four flats, three from glass and one unknown.
For the first 500 miles I was deflating the tires after rides, but I've quit doing that when the tires stopped stretching and stabilized at 25.5mm width (mounted on DT RR 1.1).
I've been running the tires at anything from 60 to 100 PSI. Tires behave well at all pressures. I like them best at 95 PSI front and 90 PSI rear.
During the last month we've had lots of rain, so the trail continues to have plenty of water, silt mud, and debris. Years of cyclocross left me with a tendency to take muddy sections a bit too fast, and I've felt the front tire wash-out in mud a number of times - no surprise with a road-tread tire. Other than that, grip has been fine. I've had to make detours on the side of grass levees and along gravel roads. No problems in these conditions.
My riding weight is still around 185 Lbs. I tend to spin a lot, and climb rather slowly. No intervals, no sprints, not many racing turns. My riding is split about 50/50 flat trails and rolling country roads.
Still quite satisfied with the Cerf Blues. I bought another pair to install on my modern bike.
Next update at 1500 miles.
Aldo Ross
Middletown, Ohio, USA